Kenya achieved gender parity in the 2023 KCSE national examinations, Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu has said.
The gap between the number of boys who sat the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education exam in 2023 compared to girls narrowed, he said.
Speaking while releasing the results at Eldoret on Monday, Machogu said the gender gap in general was bridged.
"In the 2023 KCSE exam, gender parity in males represented 50.09 per cent and females were 49.91 per cent of the total candidature. This indicates that the country has achieved gender parity in secondary education," he said.
According to data from the ministry, 899,453 candidates who sat the 2023 KCSE Examination, 450,554 were male, while 448,899 were females.
This was an improvement of both genders compared to 2022 where 443,644 were males and 437,772 were females.
During the year 2023 KCSE exams, nine counties had a significant entry of more female than male candidates; Vihiga, Elgeyo Marakwet, Kirinyaga, Meru, Kiambu, Nairobi, Kisumu and Kitui
CS Machogu also announced that 11 counties had a significant entry of more male than female candidates.
These include Garissa , Mandera , Wajir, Turkana , Samburu and Narok.
